Wakeup call

Every morning I awaken to this incessant banging on the side of the house right next to my head. I know what it is, but I never feel like getting out of bed, finding the camera and going outside only to find nothing there.

But she made a mistake today. Mid afternoon, I am happily typing away and comes a "rapping, rapping, rapping on my bedroom wall" (with a sincere apology to Edgar Allen Poe.) Already clothed I fumbled the long lens onto the camera and sneaked out the door. There she was almost close enough to touch. She

Around to the front of the house.

Back to nature and, I hope, a more successful hunt.

Poetry in motion?

flew to a tree and I got a shot there and then she flew off, but five minutes later the rapping started and this time I caught her good. A female hairy woodpecker and working her way along the wall and around the corner to the back where she slowed down enough to get a pretty good picture.

As I write this she is back rapping rapping rapping. Now she has moved around to the front. But I have what I want, though. Next time I will put on some shoes and pants before I go chasing a woodpecker around the yard. Isn't living back in the woods fun?